Bechowiec-1
|barrel= |weight= |justweight= |width= |height= |magazine=32-round detachable box magazine |cycle=650 – 700 RPM (presumed) |effective= |range= |usedby= |velocity= }}The Bechowiec-1 (pronounced bek-hov-iets), also known as the Beha, was a Polish submachine gun that was designed by Henryk Strąpoć. History Named after the informal nickname given to members of the Bataliony Chłopskie (Peasants' Battalion) or BCh, which was Bechowiec, this insurgent machine pistol was designed by Henryk Strąpoć and was produced in underground factories in the Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski region. A blacksmith by trade, Strąpoć was also a self-taught amateur gunsmith and illegally produced four semi-automatic pistols of his own designs, and became a gunsmith for the BCh during World War II. By 1943, he came up with a design of a submachine gun, which would become the Bechowiec-1, and later had his design improved with the help of Jan Swat, a former mechanic in a metalworks company in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski. Lacking any form of automatic weaponry, the headquarters of the BCh in the Opatów district ordered serial production of the Bechowiec-1; this move was possible due to clandestine parts production in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski without the knowledge of the Germans. Once the parts were produced in the metalworks in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, they would then be smuggled out by workers and taken to Strąpoć's workshop in a village where they would then be assembled; the first two weapons were completed in January 1944. The weapons were then distributed to be used by the BCh and the affiliated Ludowa Straż Bezpieczeństwa (People's Security Guard) partisan units mostly around the Opatów region. While some 20 more weapons were being constructed, the tables of the war turned and front lines approached the village; this practically caused all secret firearms production to cease due to increasing amounts of German surveillance in the area. The unfinished Bechowiec-1s were then hidden, and possibly cannibalized for parts later on. After the war, Jan Swat went onto produce the Bechowiec-2, which was patterned after the Sten gun. Design Details Due to Strąpoć not being a very good firearms designer to begin with, his Bechowiec-1 design had a few odd and interesting design features; for instance, the use of a slide as opposed to a charging handle to cock the weapon. Due to these interesting design elements, the Bechowiec-1 is sometimes classified as a machine pistol despite its size being similar to that of a full-sized submachine gun. The weapon's barrels are made from scrapped World War I rifle barrels, which are then hand-cut and re-bored to chamber a smaller round. The weapon, as stated earlier, uses a slide as opposed to a charging handle, and fires from a closed breech. It also has an internal hammer and safety, which prevents the weapon from firing if the breech is not fully closed. Priming the weapon could be done by either racking the slide, or pulling a bandolier attached underneath the slide. The weapons, when originally produced, were painted black; both surviving Bechowiec-1s have been polished. Ammunition Most of the weapons produced are chambered for 9×19mm Parabellum, although the final three or four produced are chambered for 7.62×25mm Tokarev instead. References *Wikipedia article on which this article was based *https://www.forgottenweapons.com/polish-beha-resistance-smg/ *https://www.forgottenweapons.com/submachine-guns/polish-beha-smg/ Category:Machine pistols Category:Improvised firearms Category:Sten Derivative